Electro-Mobility

China has been struggling to meet the growing demands of urban delivery. With urban population continuously growing at about 15 million people per year, 58.52% of Chinese citizens now live in cities (up from 36.22% in 2000). At the same time, consumption spending per capita in China has grown by 25% in just 3 years from RMB 18,487 (about EUR 2,370) in 2013 to 23,079RMB (about EUR 2,960) in 2016. A lot of this increased consumption spending has been driving the fast growth of e-commerce, which saw a 60% annual growth (CAGR) for the past 7 years. These developments have provided a boom for logistics companies in China, which saw their express deliveries rise from 9 billion shipments in 2013 to an estimated 40 billion in 2018. However, this development also provides many challenges to both the traffic in the cities as well as the environment. With numbers of both…

Developments in the field of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) in China have exceeded all expectations. The Middle Kingdom is by far the largest market for NEVs, with 50 % of global passenger cars being sold here (International Energy Agency (IEA), 2018). The numbers for NEVs are ever increasing: in the first half of 2018, NEV sales already reached 412,000, up from 195,000 vehicles sold in the first half of the previous year (Center for Automotive Management (CAM), 2018). Overall, China has taken a pioneering role in the e-mobility sector, with numerous Chinese cities on their way to having a fully electrified bus fleet by 2020, if not sooner. China’ s quick progress in the electro-mobility field is as much a result of industrial policy considerations as environmental concerns. A comprehensive electro-mobility ecosystem is a foundational aspect of what China regards as a strategic industry in the coming decades, supported by…

The new China Transport Sector Policy Briefing is here! In our new China Transport Sector Policy Briefing, the Sustainable Transport Team at GIZ in China provides you with a monthly summary of new important policies in China’s transport sector. Please click here to download: Transport Sector Policy Briefing – June 2018 This month, it is all about Intelligent and Connected Vehicles (ICVs), regulations for road safety, car-hailing, the fight against air and environmental pollution, and the future of electro-mobility. ICVs, road safety, car-hailing, pollution, and the future of electro-mobility Since Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Toyota in Japan, Chinese ministries have started to take a closer look at hydrogen. Numerous events on the topic have been held and the Provincial Government of Guangdong already suggested more support for innovations in the New Energy Vehicle (NEV) industry. But not only hydrogen, batteries have also received a lot of attention. After Shenzhen’s…

The electric vehicle (EV) industry is one of the priority areas identified in the “Made in China 2025” strategy and the targets are ambitious: by 2025, China aims to achieve a 20% share of EVs in new vehicles sold, up from 3% in 2017. China’s success in the EV industry is tied to several factors, one of the most important being the development of the (lithium) battery industry. Currently, the battery accounts for up to half of the production cost of an EV and with the global push for electro-mobility, analysts predict that the battery market is set to grow at a rapid pace in the coming years. It is thus not surprising that fierce global competition in this industry is already under way. Chinese champions such as Build Your Dreams (BYD) and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) are benefiting from the rapid development of electro-mobility in China and…

The 4th Annual Conference of the China EV100 was held from 20th to 21st January 2018 in Beijing. This year’s theme was “Achieving global high-quality development”, focusing on electrification and digitalization of the automotive industry. Government bodies from China and abroad, including a delegation from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) lead by Director General Dr. Wolfgang Scheremet, and several other stakeholders discussed future development strategies and corresponding measures regarding the market development of New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) in China. The “China EV100” is an association with more than 100 high-ranking members from politics, industry, academia and industry associations. Furthermore, in 2014, an international advisory board has been established. GIZ is one of the advisors and like in previous years, Sandra Retzer, Head of Sustainable Transport, Energy and Urbanisation of GIZ China, participated in the closed-door meeting of the EV100 members. The goal of this exclusive…

On June 26th, 2017, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, together with the Royal Norwegian Embassy to China and the China Carbon Forum co-organised an event titled “Mitigating transport emissions: European and Chinese perspectives”. The event was part of the China Low Carbon Leadership Network (LCLN), an event series jointly organized by GIZ and the China Carbon Forum since 2010, aiming to encourage communication among leading local and international experts in China’s climate change sector. The event was opened with a keynote speech by Mr. Vidar Helgesen, the Norwegian Minister for Climate and Environment. Mr. Helgesen began with pointing out that decarbonisation of the transport sector in Norway is a very pressing issue, given the fact that it accounts for about a quarter of Norway’s energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. The transport sector also contributes to local air quality problems, while road traffic poses as a major source of micro-plastic…

From the emergence of Chinese carsharing services in 2009 until today, more than 330,000 people signed up for a carsharing membership in China – equivalent to almost one third of the total number of carsharing members in Germany, one of the world’s largest carsharing markets. Considering that carsharing in China is still at an embryonic stage, its dynamic development indicates potential for further growth. Nevertheless, public and political awareness of carsharing are still low, its legal conditions are unclear and uncertainties related to the feasibility of large-scale applications remain. In this context the Research Institute of Highway (RIOH) with the support of GIZ carried out a study on the legal conditions for carsharing services in China. The results of the study were presented at the one day workshop “Feasibility of Carsharing Concepts in China: Analysis of the Political and Legal Framework” on 28 January 2016, organised in a round table…

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) jointly hosted the Sino-German Innovation Congress on Electro-Mobility, with support of China Automotive Technology and Research Centre (CATARC) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (giz) GmbH, on 23rd October 2015 in the Chinese National Convention Center, Beijing. The conference was split into five main sections with different foci: Market Development of electro-mobility Standards and Regulations of electro-mobility Charging Infrastructure Research and Development on Advanced Technologies Demonstration and Promotion Dr. Wolfgang Scheremet (Director General of BMWi) and Mr. Qu Guochun (Deputy Director General of MIIT) opened the conference with keynote speeches. After this introduction the congress started with its sessions on the annual key topics in electro-mobility. In the first section representatives of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) and the German National Platform Electric Mobility (NPE) held presentations of…

Monetary purchasing subsidies, super credits, tax exemptions and local incentives for industry and consumers: China is sparing no efforts in its drive towards market expansion for e-mobility. The motives of China’s industrial policy are straightforward, yet environmental protection as a driver is not equally unambiguous. Prevalent coal-fired electricity production is sparking doubts whether an electrification of motorised individual mobility has a positive impact on the climate. A Sino-German cooperation project addresses these issues by assessing the environmental impact of electric vehicles in China. As an important economic driver in China, the automotive sector is a significant provider of employment and shapes technological innovation. It has significantly contributed to China’s unprecedented economic growth over the past decades. Conversely, daunting climate and environmental concerns have cast a shadow on this development. Air pollution, noise, accidents, congestion – the list of very tangible, negative external effects of transport is long. Less perceptible, but…

China and Germany have a long-standing cooperation on the development of electric vehicles including policies, standardization, demonstration projects, environmental assessments and market development. A number of bilateral cooperation projects are running under the framework of the Sino-German Electric Vehicle Strategic Partnership. The Sustainable Transport Programme of GIZ provides support for this partnership and is currently implementing the Sino-German cooperation projects with Chinese partners from national ministries and research institutes. Beyond that, GIZ established a dialogue platform for cities in China and Germany with the aim of facilitating the exchange and deepening the cooperation between municipalities of the two countries. As the capitals of China and Germany, Beijing and Berlin keep a fruitful relationship as Partner-Cities for 21 years. Both cities announced their willingness to establish a broader cooperation in various topics, among them is the promotion of electric vehicles. The mayor of Berlin, Mr. Wowereit and Vice Mayor of Beijing,…

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The “Sustainable Transport in China” Blog informs about latest developments in green and sustainable transport. We provide news, opinions and reports on policy and technology developments in urban transportation, freight transportation, and people transportation in China and the world.